My Meetings Week

Since Vistula University is one of my favorites, and I have the pleasure to meet with students every week as a lecturer, the more I was happy to visit this place again on Friday, to attend Venues Forum by Z-Factor and MPI Poland Chapter. By the way I am joining the Board of MPI Poland Chapter in August and I strongly invite you to join as a member. Whether you are student, Hotelier, event manager of represent any corporation on position connected with meetings organization.

Back to the point, I was late a little J but for a very nice welcome I appreciated to see performance of Agata Szparaga – Receptionist, Sofitel Warsaw Victoria, Winner of first Polish edition of Reception of The Year 2016 by AICR Poland. Polish representative in competition for David Campbell Trophy by AICR International (Paris, FEB 2017). I really adore Agata being a role-model for young talents in hotel industry. Her passion, attitude and willingness to share it with Guests of Sofitel Warsaw Victoria and with whole industry, is simply giving so much believe in future of Polish Hotelier’s profession.

Well experienced Professionals inspire me every day as well. Last Friday I filled my notebook with new, great, valuable but also humoristic sentences. Łukasz Piekarski, General Manager, Puro Hotel Wrocław started with fantastic example of “act locally but thing globally” approach, saying that Puro has already 4 hotels in the world (all in PolandJ). Of course it was a situational joke, but definitely one of the best this day. We met with Lukasz long before Sound Garden Hotel opening, we both have the same approach to create hospitality of XXI century, and I am convinced, that it will work for both of us and for our Guests. Hotels of XXI century were defined in speeches of Anna Nowakowska – strefaMICE.pl and Artur Racicki – CEO, Social WiFi. I Would like to send my kindest regards to Ania for placing Sound Garden Hotel in her present-futuristic vision of hospitality.

There was a very important issue brought up by Paulina Kołodziejczyk – Rooms Division Manager, Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel, Warsaw. Paulina presented case of Women in Leadership, and I fully agree that in many industries, countries or cultures women are strongly underappreciated. Nevertheless I had a feeling that the scope of presentation was way above our industry. I don’t follow statistics regarding sustainable management in hospitality, but observing our market I am pretty sure, our statistics are much more optimistic than presented global data. I could show many examples of great leading women on HOD’s and GM’s positions. My greatest inspirations are equally men and women. I hope you had a chance to read “My Impression – Anna”. I would be happy to see Paulina again, on one of nearest hotel conferences with such comparison.

And my favorites of the day – Agnieszka Najberek, Director of Sales, Hilton Warsaw Hotel & Convention Centre, and last but not least Janusz Mitulski, Director Central & Eastern Europe, International Hotel Development, Marriott International. I have a hotelmania – Agnieszka, as a conclusion of her presentation about her hotelier’s life and professional experience, said she is hospitality-ill. Despite several affairs on the side, she was always coming back to hotels. I know, that her disease is strongly infectious, and I hope she did spread it on Friday to many new “patients”.

Janusz gave to the audience totally different experience than Janusz, whom we know so far. The regular speech of Janusz is always perfectly prepared set of data, statistics, locations, diagrams, money, investment information, not touched by unnecessary emotions. His daily job is to help people make professional and financially wise decisions. This time Janusz took the role in the movie “Saving Private Ryan” and compared hotelier’s profession and daily operations to army, tactics, support, brotherhood. His conclusion made my day, important to consider it whenever you decide to change your life, change the brand, employer or behavior. The brands are many, but your face and name is private and only one. Whoever you represent at the moment, you never stop representing yourself, so it is necessary to live the way to deserve your life. I repeated this quotation later that day, but you will read in my next post soon 🙂